Smokepaw's Ambush
by Echoes of the Storm
Summary: This is a one-shot created for the FogClan challenge: Ambush. I considered calling it Iceflash the Idiot but ruled that out. ;) Read, review and enjoy! I will not be adding on to this story. Rated K for fighting.


**I hope you like it! **

"From now on, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Smokepaw," Emberstar meowed, his voice ringing. "Ashpelt will be your mentor."

The newly named Smokepaw raised his head proudly and trotted over to Ashpelt, touching noses. The Clan welcomed the two new apprentices with cheers. "Ivypaw! Smokepaw!" Smokepaw's sister Ivypaw gazed around the clearing.

"Congratulations, Smokepaw," Ashpelt murmured. "You'll be a great warrior."

Smokepaw could hardly keep his voice from trembling. "Thanks, Ashpelt."

As the cheers died down and the crowd dispersed, Ivypaw padded over to her brother with her tail held high. "We're apprentices!" She meowed, "Isn't it great?"

Smokepaw only nodded as Ashpelt nodded to Hazelpelt, Ivypaw's mentor. "What do you think about taking the apprentices around the territory?" He suggested.

The cream-colored warrior nodded. "That's a good idea," she mewed. "Let's go, Ivypaw!"

The warriors let their new apprentices out into the forest. Smokepaw breathed in the fresh smells as the warriors sped up, testing their apprentices on how fast they could go. Scrambling over logs and pushing through brush, they headed toward the edge of FireClan territory.

Ashpelt raised his tail silently, signaling for the apprentices to stop. "Here is the border with IceClan," he meowed sternly. "Make sure you remember the smell, and I hope you never have to set paw in their territory or much less fight one until you're a warrior."

Smokepaw nodded timidly, opening his jaws and wrinkling his nose at the stench.

"Yuck!" Exclaimed Ivypaw.

Hazelpelt slapped her tail over the apprentice's jaws, meowing. "Don't make such a loud noise when we're so close to their border!" Her gaze softened as she went on. "But they think we smell as bad to them as they do to us."

"That's true," snarled a voice from the border. "And right now, you can leave so we don't have to smell _you _anymore."

Ashpelt met the white cat's proud gaze evenly. "Don't tell us what to do on our own territory, Iceflash."

Iceflash hissed. "And I'm on my own territory." He swept a mocking glance over the two apprentices. "Are you training kits now?"

"I'm an apprentice," meowed Smokepaw boldly.

The IceClan warrior snarled one last time before disappearing into the trees of his own territory.

Ashpelt looked troubled. "IceClan warriors are proud," he meowed, "but they don't usually pick fights like that." He shrugged. "I'll tell Emberstar about it when we get back."

Heading along the border, the four cats re-marked the scent markers. They stopped at a large maple tree. "This is the Great Maple," explained Hazelpelt.

"Wow," Smokepaw tilted his head up to take in the large dimensions of the tree. "Is this the only tree that is this big?"

Ashpelt shook his head. "No," he meowed, "the tree at the Gathering space is even larger."

"I would like to see that!"

"Maybe you will." Ashpelt flicked his tail. "The next Gathering is only a quarter-moon away."

Smokepaw glanced up again at the Great Maple. "Can I go?" He asked.

"That's up for Emberstar to decide." His mentor meowed.

Signaling for the three cats to follow him, they continued setting markers.

"It would be faster if we split up," Hazelpelt suggested. "I'll go with my apprentice, and Ashpelt, you can take Smokepaw."

Ashpelt nodded as Ivypaw and her mentor went off in the other direction to check the Clan's borders with BreezeClan. Ashpelt spotted a mouse and dropped into an expert stalking crouch, pouncing and killing it with a swift bite.

Smokepaw tracked a rabbit and tried to mimic his mentor. But the apprentice stepped on a twig and the prey shot off with Smokepaw racing after it, not hearing his mentor's yowls to come back.

The rabbit went down a hole, and Smokepaw's shoulders sagged. He had lost his first-ever piece of prey. Sighing, the young cat was going to go back to his mentor when a strong scent made him freeze. _IceClan!_ Looking around, he realized that he was no longer on his own territory.

The apprentice bolted back to his own side of the border. But before that happened Iceflash dropped out of a tree, snarling.

"Are you on your own territory now?" He hissed, curling his lip. "I don't think so."

The white warrior shot out a paw and Smokepaw flinched. Trying to leap over the warrior, Smokepaw bunched his muscles but Iceflash slammed a paw down on the apprentice's eyes.

Yowling, Smokepaw spun away. Iceflash raked claws down his flank as the apprentice aimed a weak blow at his ears, which Iceflash batted away scornfully.

The apprentice crouched down and sprung at Iceflash, who dodged and gave him a powerful back kick to the already winded Smokepaw.

Pinning Smokepaw down, Iceflash sliced at Smokepaw's muzzle with thorn-sharp claws. Agony shot through the young cat, who was getting weaker and losing a lot of blood. Clawing the young cat, the unharmed Iceflash had menace in his eyes when finally Smokepaw went still, clumps of his grey fur around him.

Through his vision that was tinged with red, the apprentice vaguely noticed Iceflash leaving before he blacked out.

(Ashpelt's POV)

Ashpelt frantically yowled for Smokepaw to wake up, bending over his body. Dragging the young cat to camp, his blood-soaked scruff in his mouth, Smokepaw's mentor flinched every time his apprentice's body hit a depression.

(Small time break)

His tail curled around his body, Ashpelt's eyes were fixed on Smokepaw as Petaldrop crushed up a poultice for Smokepaw's wounds, while her apprentice Goldpaw was force-feeding him juniper berries for strength.

Ivypaw rushed in to the medicine cat den, frantic. "Smokepaw!" She yowled, grief in her mew. Pushing her nose into her fur, she stayed there until Petaldrop shooed them out, telling them to eat and get some sleep, although both cats didn't do either.

(Medium time break)

At sunset, Goldpaw looked at Ivypaw with serious blue eyes and meowed, "Smokepaw's dead."

"No!" Ivypaw's voice rang across camp. Ignoring Goldpaw, she pushed past the medicine cat apprentice and forced her self into the den, where Smokepaw's still body stood there.

Ashpelt remained silent. Smokepaw's sister and mentor carried his body out into the center of the clearing, where they placed lavender on his body.

Ivypaw and Ashpelt looked at each other, the loss reflected in the two cat's eyes.

Ashpelt gazed at his former apprentice. "Smokepaw will always be remembered."

**Now I didn't put this in there, but Ashpelt knew that Smokepaw was killed by Iceflash from the scent on his pelt. A few moons later, Ashpelt became a rouge and was exiled from his clan for treachery. Then he wasn't bound by the warrior code and became evil: but he swore to himself that he would murder Iceflash. **

**A moon after that Iceflash's body was found on the IceClan-Twolegplace border. No one never knew what had killed him, but Ashpelt had always known. Guess who! xD**


End file.
